2022 Ludes Riesling Thörnicher Ritsch "im Schneidersberg" Kabinett -T

For a second straight year the young Julian Ludes has turned out one of the most uncompromising and angular, ruthlessly old-school Moselle Riesling collections I, for one, have ever tasted.

Nine unique wines, every single one a Kabinett, every single one absolutely singular, achieving the most inconceivable balances - sleek, fully attenuated, pointed-toe postures that would make even the most flexible gymnast blush.

Noble laureates in chemistry scratch their heads, wondering how in the flying hell there exist wines with such tension, the acids and pHs being understood only by angels.

Here we conclude our three-part series on the "Kabinett Trocken" with a wine that is a Kabinett Trocken absolutely, while also not legally being a Kabinett Trocken.

We can explain.

To be "Trocken," or "dry," by the German wine law a wine must have 9 or 10 grams of residual sugar per liter, but no more.

The 2022 Ludes "im Schneidersberg" Kabinett -T- has a whopping 15 grams of residual sugar. Therefore Julian Ludes cannot write "Trocken" on the label - he can only write a "T." I'll give you three guesses what the "T" stands for... and the first two guesses don't count.

This is the magic of the Moselle - the wine has a kicking 10.5 grams of acid... and thus our not-legally-dry Kabinett not only tastes absolutely bone dry, it achieves a severity of salt and rock, gunflint and smoke that one rarely finds, even in taut Moselles.

The very-talented taster-scholars at Mosel Fine Wines write the following, with an almost apologetic tone: "The finish is taut, long, and tart, and clearly still austere. It will need a few years to soften."

If this weren't enough of a warning, the final line should be printed in a lemon-lime font color: "This lively, airy, and racy dry wine is remarkable, and will appeal to fans of this style."

We are fans of this style; we think you might be too. If this wine isn't for everyone, those who like this language will lose their minds. The price for this bottle is honestly something of an insult.

Yet at the same time, if I'm being honest, this is another part of the razor-sharp contrast that gives the Moselle its gritty coolness. There is so much here, truly transcendental beauty, and it's affordable... it's right there in front of us.

It reminds me in ways of the stunt the graffiti artist Banksy pulled off in 2013, selling original pieces on the street in New York's Central Park. The signed pieces, worth a commercial value of around $30,000 each, were sold to anyone who walked up for only $60.

Here is one of the greats of the Moselle, a wine right here and available... and it's available for a song. If you know, you know.

After having loved, truly loved, the Moselle for well over twenty years, I taste through this Ludes collection and it hits me like a wall of slate, once again, just how exceptional, how utterly unique, how irreproducible the Moselle is. In a sea of unfiltered, über-hyped wines with preciously designed labels that all (no matter of place or style or anything else) look remarkably the same, we have the raw Moselle - for-fucking-ever uncool, the outcast, misunderstood (even within Germany itself) and... utterly miraculous.

This not-a-Kabinett Trocken is in stock and can be delivered the first week of December. If you are interested in seeing the 2022 Ludes wines that are in stock, please let us know.

To read more about the history of this badass, old-school estate, click here.

2022 Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling "im Schneidersberg" Kabinett -T-
"The 2022er Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Spätlese -t- “Im Schneidersberg” was made from fruit harvested at 78° Oechsle on 80-85 year-old vines in this prime Lieu-Dit and was fermented down to off-dry levels of residual sugar (15 g/l). The nose is captivating from the start, with hints of bacon smoke, residual spontaneous fermentation, and lots of fine spices. Then come aromas of vineyard peach, dried white flowers, gunflint, lime, grapefruit, and gooseberry. The wine comes over as straightforward and lean on the palate, with dynamism provided by some salivating acidity. The finish is taut, long, and tart, and clearly still austere. It will need a few years to soften. This lively, airy, and racy dry wine is remarkable, and will appeal to fans of this style. Mosel Fine Wines, Issue 63, August 2022